EATING WITH ASPERGERS

In this posting, I'm going to take a break from the serious side of things and speak about something that has been a source of frustration for both my wife and I.  My son will not eat anything new.  If I'm eating something great and ask Jacob if he wants to try some, he'll cover his mouth with both hands and mumble he doesn't want to try it.  So, I'm going to list some things that he likes to eat and at the end of this post, I'll give the name of a great website.

I can't say for sure, but I've heard that many children with ASD have trouble trying new foods.  It could be the the look of food or maybe the issue lies with change.  I know my son falls into this category.  He won't eat pizza or meat (except chicken nuggets, but not strips or burgers).  He won't eat many fruits or vegetables.  He does however enjoy french fries, but they're not really a vegetable now are they?  He won't even consider trying anything Chinese or something strange like that, not even chicken balls with red sauce.  He mainly eats carbs and bread products.  And he loves peanut butter, whether it's in a sandwich or on those little Ritz crackers he loves smooth, whipped and extra creamy, but not crunchy.  He loves fishy crackers (either cheddar or chocolate, but not 3 cheese), he likes Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles.  Occasionally he'll eat spaghetti, but that's the only pasta.  Jacob also loves Nutella, but what kid doesn't?  Unfortunately, we can't send either to school.

As I stated earlier, Jacob doesn't eat many fruits or veggies, he gets in kicks of eating baby oranges, but recently he hasn't touched them.  We've even tried adding vitamins to his food, but if he even thinks that his food has been tampered with, he'll write off eating all together.  Sometimes he'll have apple slices, but if they start to turn brown, he won't touch them.  Jacob does however enjoy raisins.  I've seen him eat multiple boxes at one time.  I'm sure many kids eat raisins, but when you consider Jacob's preferences, we're happy he'll even eat 1 box.

One area of Jacob's eating habits we're pleased about is what he likes to drink.  If he had a choice he'd drink only white milk.  Sometimes if he's thirsty he'll go with water, but that's about it.  He will have the occasional sip of pop, but he's never had his own can.  He won't drink any juices or anything overly sugary.  This is great because his teeth aren't riddled with cavities, going to the dentist is another story. 

Since Jacob started school he's always had pretty much the same snacks.  A ziploc bag of fishy crackers, a couple boxes of raisins and water.  Thankfully Jacob always eats breakfast and he comes home for lunch every day.  Luckily we only live 2 blocks away from his school.  Besides eating at lunch, Jacob enjoys the down time.  It gives him a chance to recharge ad refocus for the afternoon session.  If Jacob doesn't eat breakfast or lunch, we know he's not feeling well.

Even when it comes to snacks Jacob still won't try everything.  He likes potato chips, just not ketchup.  He loves chocolate bars, but we don't give him smarties.  We think he reacts to food colouring.  He'll eat ice cream and he loves chocolate chip cookies.  He wont eat much cake or pie and he doesn't like much candy.

I'd like to say, I'm not the cook in the family, but I did however come across a great website full of recipes and food ideas for those who have an autistic family member.  It's called Cooking With Autism and it's full of great food ideas and recipes.  I'm going to check it out more thoroughly and if I find a recipe that works for Jacob, I'll post it right away.  Again, the website is cookingwithautism.com